1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to hearing protective devices and, more particularly, to an earplug assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art.
Health and safety regulations require that individuals working in noisy environments be protected by wearing appropriate safety equipment, such as hearing protectors. Various types of hearing protectors are currently available to workers for this purpose, such as earplugs, ear muffs and semi-aural hearing protectors. Of these, earplugs have gained universal acceptance in both industrial and consumer settings because of their size, comfort, economy and attenuation characteristics.
Although earplugs may be provided separately, it is often desirable to provide earplugs, or other similar hearing protectors, with suitable attachments to prevent loss should the earplug work itself loose from the wearer's ear or otherwise become dislodged. For example, it is important in the food processing industry to prevent any foreign matter from entering food products. As a result, various types of cords or connectors for attaching a pair of earplugs have been developed, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,375 to Grozil; U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,758 to Jordan-Ross; U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,553 to Westerdal; U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,452 to Powers et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,018 to Draper, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,396 to Wacker and U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,372 to Bivins. Typically, the cord is a relatively long, continuous and flexible material fixed to, and extending between, the earplugs or earplug stems. The cord is of sufficient length, generally ranging from between 21 inches to 27 inches, to extend from one ear to the other ear of a wearer while further providing enough slack to secure the cord to some convenient portion of the wearer's apparel, e.g. a shirt collar, or to be draped around the neck of a wearer when not in use. Suitable materials for such cords are conventional in nature and include natural and synthetic materials, for example, cotton, wool, plastic, plastic such as polyvinylchloride, and may be in the form of a continuous solid strand or a braided/twisted multi-strand construction.
While such cords serve their intended function, several disadvantages are associated with their use. For example, at the lengths noted above, the cord itself must be fastened (e.g. using a "cigar-type" band) to prevent tangling and/or knotting during shipping. Therefore, in addition to the extra material needed to fasten the cords, additional handling and preparation for packaging is also required. As such, excessive material waste is of concern as well as maintaining the sanitary integrity of the plugs. Finally, some cords tend to transmit sound through the cord to the earplug, thus reducing the earplugs beneficial intended purpose.
A need therefore remains for alternative attachment mechanisms which provide adequate strength and flexibility to the user.